About the Liturgy

About the site

This page is not aimed at priests and religious who have an obligation
to recite the Office. It is aimed at the laity who want to acquire this good
and beneficial habit.

Which Hours to recite

In a word: you are free to choose.

Planning your prayer life is like planning your exercise or your diet.
It is easy to get carried away by enthusiasm and end up surrounded by prayer-books
(or exercise equipment or diet books) that you never actually use.

So - start slowly. Work out how much time you can
devote to praying the Hours, and halve it. That way, you are likely to build
a solid lifetime habit... and you can always add to it later.

Choose a regular time each day for your use of the Liturgy.
This may be the morning, before the cares of the day overwhelm you; or it
may be the evening, after the day's work is over and you can give your undivided
attention to the things of the spirit. Whatever time you choose, stick to
it. Don't keep changing your mind about when you do things. A regular schedule
is essential.

If you miss a day, don't try to catch up.&nbsp Forget
that you missed yesterday - just carry on with today. Otherwise you'll find
yourself feeling guiltier and guiltier about the things you've missed, and
your backlog will get longer and longer. The Divine Office is about joy,
not guilt!

If a thing is worth doing, it is worth doing badly. Of
course it is better if you are able to give the proper amount of time to
the Hours that you have chosen, but if you don't have enough time one day,
it is better to recite that Hour in a hurry rather than to leave it out
altogether. That way the good habit isn't broken. (Of course, if you regularly
find yourself hurrying and not getting the proper benefit, you will have
to look seriously at how you are using your time).

But which hours?

See which ones suit you best. The Office of Readings is a rich source of
material for meditation, especially on the days when Universalis contains
the text of the Second Reading. Morning and Evening Prayer are more prayerful.

The daytime Hours (Terce, Sext and None) are very short and you are sure
to have time for them if you try.

Always try to have a look at About Today.
This won't always contain much, but we are gradually filling it with short
details of the saint of the day, meditations related to the readings. So
when there is something, it's worth reading.

What is the Invitatory Psalm?

It opens your celebration of the Liturgy of the Hours, and it should be
recited before the first Hour that you say in the day.